Still dealing with the aftermath of War Games plus the events of Identity Crisis--Stephanie is dead, Jack Drake is dead, Barbara is gone, Dick is broken and Gotham is tired. As befits the end of a crossover event, three of the four Batbooks were one-offs.

Birds of Prey #76 I liked this. I liked seeing Helena in her real job. I liked Black Alice. And I'm terrified about Barbara.

Catwoman #37 It's Brubaker and all, and it was a standalone, but I stopped reading this book this book a few years ago, and I don't know the characters that well, other than Selina and Leslie. The surprise was cool, though, and it was a nice transition from the crossover.

Gotham Knights #59 This one I liked. While it paid homage to recent events, it was basically Batman and Mr. Freeze one-on-one, with the two of them needling each other. Freeze is one of the few Batvillains who isn't completely pathological, so they can actually have this conversation. Nicely done.

Robin #132 Ugly art. Ugly, ugly, ugly. I wasn't even completely sure if it was Bruce or Dick talking to Tim at one point (although, Dick's hurt, so I should have figured it out.) They don't have grief counselors anywhere else but Bludhaven? Really? And a teenage boy - a triply grieving teenage boy who just lost his father and two girlfriends in a very, well, ugly way - can do more in a few days than a reasonably healthy young man couldn't in several years? Yeah, right. I'll pick the rest of this up, but all will not be right with the world until Tim and Cass are back in Gotham and Dick is back in the 'Haven.

DC Universe

Teen Titans #18 More of the Titans of the Future. Dark, scary and what is going on with the inscription on Bruce's headstone? (Not that it's shock he ended up where he did.) Was it the events in Identity Crisis that put Tim in that dark place? Because we don't really know where this is on the timeline - before, after, *ignoring*? I do have to say - I like the concept of "where the Bat goes, so goes the rest." I want to read the rest of this series.

Wonder Woman #210 Wow. This was...good. The ending was completely unexpected and completely in character for Diana. It gave me *chills* when it happened because it was so painful and so right - and, given the number of witnesses to that action, and what it meant to them - if anything would change things, *that* would. There is one panel that is burned in my mind, in a good way. Although - there was also a good argument for armor that covers the, you know. Back and shoulders.

Superman/Batman #14 No Supergirl is a good thing. Interesting alternate universe is a very good thing. I suspected the people in the end - no, I didn't. I suspected *relatives* and contemporaries of the people in the end, because I don't think things through all the time. I really do like the idea of a Dark!Superman and a, um, Darker!Batman, and having them raised the way they were adds a nice layer to it all.

JLA #108 Speaking of alternate universes...Nice view of Earth-1. I liked the book - I liked the twist at the end. Oh, yeah. Pretty man there at the end. Other than that...I'll read the rest.

Extras

JSA Strange Adventures #4 Meh. It just got confusing to me. I like the old JSA, and I do like Johnny Thunder, and I'm a big Jack Williamson fan - I even like Kevin J. Anderson, but I'm having a time following the plot, and that's not good.

Hero #22 RIP. It was a good concept and the last few issues had actual *plot*, but I'm not going to miss it terribly.

Wildstorm Winter Special This was fun. Me being me, I really like the first of the two Authority shorts (yeah, if that happened to our Midnighter, he'd be pretty well wrecked. I think he needs Apollo and Jenny to keep him together), but all of the stories were rather cool even if I didn't know the characters well.